Inscribing African American Women into the National Narrative: Lucille Clifton’s Generations as a Work of Life Writing Within the Black Arts Movement

Authors : Meryem Bahar KARATAŞ

Pages : 163-179

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Publication Date : 2021-05-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Lucille Clifton insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1936-2010); was a key figure of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. By dedicating her poems to her body parts and her personal experiences at different stages of her life, she has not only brought her African American attributes from the margins, but also used her private female body to make political claims, shedding light on the points where racial and gendered experiences overlap and intersect. However, while her poetry has been celebrated and studied, her autobiography, which is a unique example of life writing within the Black Arts Movement, has been overlooked. This article aims to take a close look at Generations insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1976); to understand how life writing could be a platform upon which Black Arts Movement and feminist writing can intersect to reveal that the rediscovery of African American women’s histories is crucial to the goal of locating African American community in a historical chain.
Keywords : Black Arts Movement, African American Literature, Feminism, life writing, Lucille Clifton